Filled the postie bike today with petrol after it went onto reserve. Took 3.34 litres for a cost of $5.20. I forgot to write down the kilometres so the MPG will have to wait till next time. So that is riding to work and back 6 times and running around town doing errands, I'd guess around 100km approx 62 miles. 3.34 l is around 0.9 us gal so around 69 mpg. Our petrol is 155.9 cents per litre so around $5.90 a us gallon.
That is only a guess I'll know for sure next time I fill it.
I also did an oil change which I should have done as soon as I got the bike as it was pretty black and who knows when it was last done. The chain and sprockets also are not the best but they can wait a while, I also lubed and tightened the chain and hit it with the pressure cleaner to get some of the old oil and crud off it. The bike that is not the chain
End of line.

 

Many many things figure into fuel economy (more than just dividing gallons and miles.) Tire inflation, wind resistance, amount of weight onboard, road temperature, tire temperature, alignment, aerodynamics, etc., in addition to engine performance, engine friction (oil change), drivetrain friction losses,.....
The "quick and dirty" gallons/miles math is OK, but statistically valid to about +/- 3-5mpg. People who tell you they miraculously got a 5 mpg improvement by switching to "Brand X" product are drinking Kool Aid.
IMHO

 

I think on an automobile those variables make more of a difference, but on the KLX they have far less effect. I get pretty consistent mileage, no matter how and where I drive mine. I track my mileage fairly regularly, and the biggest variation I have ever gotten was 3 MPG. I get 65 MPG. That's whether I ride off-road, on road, dirt roads, high RPM, before/after re-jetting, before/after adding pipe, winter /summer fuel formulas, etc. Doesn't seem to matter on my bike.

 

lol I was just saying it's cheap running to work and back

BTW what's wrong with Kool Aid?

 

Wasn't trying to be a jack-***. I think it was the thread title (Oil change and Fuel Economy) that brought to mind a Purolator Filter news release I read yesterday. Purolator sells a new "oil filter engineered for synthetic oil." The news release claims that with many newer vehicles, OE's will spec extended synthetic drain intervals. A Purolator spokesman says by using THEIR new filter, you "will not run the risk of filter media collapse or valving failure." The spokesman is, of course, the Marketing Director. Hmmmm. Marketing 101: make the customer think the sky will fall if they use anything other than your product. That doesn't mean there is ACTUALLY anything wrong with the competition's product, but that is the implication. My mental "association" was with the "my oil change suddenly improved my mpg" (that I incorrectly deduced from the title.)
As for Kool Aid. Not sure how old you are. In November of 1978, some quack named Jim Jones had about 900 followers in a cult, in South America. After some of his communal followers shot and killed Congressman Ryan while boarding a plane and leaving with some of the commune members, Jones told them the cult could "not continue." He convinced them to drink this purple concoction of cyanide, sedatives, and tranquilizers, loosely referred to as "Kool Aid" by the popular media ever since.
Again, sorry for connecting dots that maybe weren't there.....

 

Fair enuff, wow I don't think that deep but I can see how you connected the dots, you explained it very well. Yeah the oil change and fuel economy are separate subjects but I can see how you connected the two, as for kool aid I was thinking of this



never in a million years would I have thought of that loony Jim Jones

 

It's kind of a frequent saying/analogy for many of us in the states. The young-uns don't get it though.

 

I remember the event (I'm old enuff lol) but I guess not living in the states didn't pick up on the kool aid reference

 

I hear it quite a bit in US TV shows.

First heard of Jim Jones by researching a band called The Brian Jonestown Massacre.

 

Since the Jim Jones incident, "Drinking the Kool Aid" has meant "buying into hype that will kill you in the end". That's why it has been used so frequently to describe those who voted for Obama, and Apple fanboyz... among others.